Faking It...

Oh Taita. I'm sorry you missed it. Faking It is another of those "reality shows." In this episode, Joe, a tomboy kickboxer from northern England, is transformed into a competitive ballroom dancer in four weeks, With the help of some REALLY GOOD dance coaches, an acting coach and others, she enters a ballroom two dance competition (jive and rumba) and competes against people who've been dancing for years. It was really entertaining.
 
Unfortunately, I couldn't get BBCAmerica where I live so I couldn't even record it. What was entertaining? Did she pull it off?
 
If the show is to be believed (and some have suggested to me it was rigged :lol: :wink: ) she made the final round.

What I can say is that, in the earliest footage, she couldn't dance a lick. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see footwork of the actual dance competition at the end, but her posture, poise, and arm styling were quite nice.

I don't want to hog the conversation here, but I have to say that the scene about midway through the episode, when she gets bashed by all her coaches and recommits to the project, was very profound. She was working hard, but essentially going through the motions up to that point. And when she was about three weeks into the project, she realized the enormity of what she was doing, recommitted, and pulled it through. Words of wisdom for me. Going through the motions is easy to do, but committing to the hard work is what's required to succeed.

Did anybody else watch?
 
Well I stayed up till 3am to watch the replay after reading your post and realising I'd missed it ( Our vcr doesn't play nicely with the cable box)

I throughly enjoyed it. She did have some resistance to the idea at first but nothing near as bad as some of the contestants on the MTV show "MADE"

One thing I remember tha twas different dancing here than elsewhere in the world is that coaches ehre dont yell at you nearly enough. They're too nice. :shock:
 
I could go on and on and on, but will just say a few words.

Giselle said:
I didn't catch the ballroom Faking It... Would someone mind giving me the play by play on what happened? I'd be much obliged.
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You don't ask for much, do you? [sarcastic playful grin- try and get a smiley for that!!] It started out with Joe picking up quite a bit fast, and then she hit a plateau in which she had this fear of being "girly" and looking stupid. Joe was embarrassed by the intimacy of the closed position and she did not take off her baseball cap for quite a well. (I personally thought that was what made her look stupid. Try doing latin dancing with a cap as a follow?!!! Then she tried on a fairly revealing dress and high heals, standing with her legs apart, and her cap on. I don't know how anyone could feel good like that!! ) That stopped her progress until about ten days before the show, when she decided to stop worrying about what others thought and give it her best shot. I thought the change was a dramatic one. Then for the competition Joe got through to the third round as one of the six finalists. She did rhumba in the first round, and then getting through to the second round pepped her up a bit and she did better in the jive. (The jive is less sexy, so that must have helped too.)
 
Yeah, tasche. She really was upset two times during the episode -- when Sammy (?) Stoppard told her to get her a$$ in gear, and later, when she did the dress rehearsal and all the coaches bashed her.

Every once in a while, I need somebody to tell me to get my a$$ in gear, too! :lol:
 
pygmalion said:
If the show is to be believed (and some have suggested to me it was rigged :lol: :wink: ) she made the final round.
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Interesting, since I haven't seen the show, I really can't tell if it was rigged or not (not that I could anyways! :wink: ). On one hand, I know it's not easy to train for and make the finals of any respectable competition in only a month of training. But when I ask myself how it may have happened the following random thoughts come to mind....

She had a goal. I am always surprised at what people can accomplish if they have a goal. If someone makes something a MUST in their life, success will invariably come if they take action. I can remember when I was first learning to dance and it was a MUST for me. I couldn't believe what I accomplished in a month. Did she win a prize or anything?

She had some great coaches. This may not have been a typical month for most amateur dancers. I'm fortunate to work with some great coaches on a weekly basis along with regular practice. Did she work with them everyday? The website says she was a martial arts black belt. This tells me that she has some discipline and is accustomed to working hard consistently over time. This combined with the coaching and the motivation might have guaranteed success.

It can be argued that ladies can learn ballroom dance at least 3 times faster than guys since they don't have to learn some things guys have to learn.

As you said, her posture, poise and styling were quite nice. This alone could at least get her by the first round.

It was only 2 dances. I have a similar martial arts/athletic background and I can remember how quickly I learned 6 dances about a month before my first competition and made a respectable showing.

I suppose it may be possible for a woman with such a background to learn quite a bit very quickly but I really wish I had seen the show. What was it that really hit home with you? Anybody else want to share their thoughts?
 
Oh. I'm really trying not to take over the conversation, here. But I did watch and take notes! :lol: :lol:

I agree with you, Taita. This young woman came to the table as an athlete already having complete control of her body and with a disciplined mind. She also had excellent dance coaches, a custom designed gown from Chrisanne, makeup artists, an acting coach. Oh yeah, and a hand-picked, experienced and great-looking dance partner.

I seriously doubt that just your ordinary amateur dancer could do quite so well. Joe had every possible advantage.
 
pygmalion said:
Oh. I'm really trying not to take over the conversation, here. But I did watch and take notes! :lol: :lol:
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LOL! I'm not trying to hog the conversation either. I think of it as having a conversation for others. People posting are probably saying and asking things others who are reading along are thinking and asking themselves. Besides, someone with as many postings as yourself surely is not afraid of posting some more. :wink: What did you write down? Did you tape it?

Since I have never even watched the show, much less this episode, was this some kind of gameshow? or just pure entertainment. Are there any fans of the show reading?
 
:lol: :lol: Oh Taita! You're such a bad influence! :lol: :wink: No. Posting a lot doesn't bother me. But after this one, I'm really going to try to stay out and let others comment. Yes, of course I taped it, so I can go back and watch again, to see if I'm missing anything. :wink:

To me, the show touched on a lot of universal dance or even achievement-related themes, and I wrote some of them down. It talked about glamour, femininity/masculinity, competitive spirit, commitment, self-discovery, physical versus mental focus, overcoming fear, discipline, and making choices.

From what I can tell, this is just another reality show which places someone from one walk of life into a totally foreign role. This week just happened to be about ballroom dance. Next week is about a woman who knows nothing about sailing, but is made captain of a small craft and crew. It actually looks quite interesting, and I may check out other episodes. But, of course, the ballroom episode will always be near and dear to my heart. :lol:
 
Hopefully I don't put my neck out too far here on this one, but I kind of have an adjoining opinion to comments about women that have good body control, therefore, being able to fake it.

See, I believe that it's easier for a woman to fake a Latin dance than anyone else can in any other scenario. Just like how Vanessa Williams had to fake it in Dance With Me, or Jennifer Gray had to fake a Mambo. I have yet to see a man or woman, really pull of a standard ballroom dance even close to the level of what we would expect in competition. Top-line, moving with a partner in your arms, and the overall look of a closed frame I think is the hardest thing to fake.

Latin is very athletic, and people in other athletic styles, like Jazz-dance, ballet, or in this case Kickboxing, can adapt their flexibility and muscles easier than having to dance face-to-face with a partner. The choreography can be adapted to include more side-by-side work, so that you don't see a bad dance-frame.

I didn't see the show yet, but I would really love to see someone fake a Waltz or a Foxtrot at a level higher than bronze-basic.

PLEASE don't read this like I'm saying Latin is easy. I just think it's more closely related to the activities that these 'fakers' already have skills in.

Also, I heard a rumor on another forum that this competition event was staged against collegiate-level dancers, so that's another factor to take into account if this is true.
 
I dont think it reallys matters if the competition was staged or not. I think she did awefully well to have acheived so much in 4 weeks
 
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